 A special ritual referring to the brokenness of the
Church to-day and featuring a candle and a broken pottery vessel took place after the reading of the Passion at the Good Friday Service. Our picture shows the broken pottery vessel resting on a purple cloth. Purple symbollses the sorrow we feel at what has happened in our Church over the last 50 years. The broken pieces represent our Church today. It says something to us of the brokenness of the people of God, at the present time. Broken, dam- aged, abused, hurt, by the sins and crimes of some of its People. A vast number of People have been further hurt, confused, betrayed, by the secrecy and cover up that followed the revelations. Many sincere Catholics are struggling to stay with and in the Church. The broken pieces of pottery were brought to the altar by
four parishioners, where the vessel was re-assembled around the candle on the purple cloth. The symbolism of each of the four broken pieces of pottery is explained below  which symbolised the light and person of Christ, who has promised to be with us 'even to the end of the world'.
 carried up to the altar represented the survivors of abuse and those who unfortunately did not survive. The many adults and children who carried their pain, loss of childhood, and anger at not being believed or heard for many years, often without much support and without hope of justice or the possibility of the truth coming out.
 The second piece represented the
general body of believers who have been shocked, angered, disillusioned, and disturbed by the revelations of the Ryan and Murphy reports, but who struggle to hold on to their faith in Jesus and who look to the Holy Spirit to show the way forward. The third piece of pottery repre- sented those who are no longer part of the Catholic Church, having tumed away dlslllusloned and dismayed to follow their own spiritual path. The fourth plece represented
those who told their stories, ex- posed the truth, and revealed it to the nation. Through their courage, these people made known the cancer within our institutions, and now perhaps the process of healing can begin. The broken pieces were assembled on the purple
cloth. Again we have a purple cloth symbolising the sorrow we feel for all who have suffered abuse. These pieces of pottery can be pieced together again but this vessel will never be the same a ain. It will bear the scars, the cracks of its brokenness. So too the Survivors of Abuse carry their wounds as Christ carried the scars of the crucifixion on his hands, his feet and his side when he appeared after his resurrec- tion. So too the entire Church will bear the scars for a long time. Healing takes a long time. The pottery pieces were assembled around the candle. Notice how the light filters out through the cracks showing how Christ and the Spirit can bring good out of the most horrible situations.  And so we pray:
Our response is: Walk with them Lord.
Church of the Assumption, Howth. |
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